Category: news

The White House has asked a US appeals court to suspend a judge’s decision permitting gays to serve openly in the military, while it appeals against it.

The military began accepting gay recruits this week after a judge struck down the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy barring openly gay people from serving.

The US defence department had warned gay recruits that an appeal could come.

Judge Virginia Phillips refused a request from the Pentagon this week to reinstate the ban.

The Obama administration says it wants the US Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit in San Francisco to grant an emergency stay while the government prepares its appeal against the ruling by the California judge.

President Barack Obama has said he supports getting rid of the policy, but his administration believes that overturning it immediately could cause problems for the military.

The Justice Department said in its latest appeals court filing that leaving Judge Phillips’s decision in place could create uncertainty for the “status of service members who may reveal their sexual orientation in reliance on the district court’s decision and injunction”.

The court papers added that developing “training and guidance” in relation to a change in the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy would take time and effort.

Judge Phillips declared that the policy violated gay military members’ rights to free speech and to equal protection under the law.

Some gay rights groups were planning to send individuals to military recruiting stations on Wednesday to enlist in hopes of testing the new decision.

Democrats in the US Senate attempted to overturn the policy in September, but failed to get the necessary votes. The House of Representatives approved measures to change the policy in May.

Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton voiced her support for gay teenagers through a video message posted on Tuesday on the website YouTube, saying “hang in there and ask for help”.

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A stunning silhouette of active leafcutter ants in Costa Rica wins the Wildlife Photographer of the Year award.

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Entries to the Environment Wildlife Photographer of the Year awards

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Is it legal to scrump apples and forage for fruit?

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From grinding poverty to Hollywood in three generations

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More training in techniques used during difficult births could help reduce the number of caesarean sections, says an expert.

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The number of people dying from malaria in India has been extremely underestimated, according to new research.

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Councils could struggle to find the cash to improve local sports centres and maintain services, a new report warns.

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Scottish Secretary Michael Moore is to visit Moray over the impending closure of RAF Kinloss.

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Fifa president Sepp Blatter has said that world football’s governing body will restore credibility after provisionally suspending two officials over allegations of corruption.

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Rapper Tinie Tempah and foursome JLS have scooped two Mobo (Music of Black Origin) awards each at a ceremony in Liverpool’s Echo arena.

Tempah took home best newcomer and best video for his single Frisky.

The best album trophy went to former X Factor finalists JLS, who were also named best UK act for 2010.

There were also prizes for Plan B, Professor Green, N-Dubz and US rapper Eminem, who was named best international act.

Plan B, who recently won four prizes at the UK Music Video Awards, was named best UK R&B and Soul act.

The star – who has won critical acclaim for his album The Defamation Of Strickland Banks – did not collect the award in person, but in a pre-recorded acceptance speech said it “meant the world” to him.

Tempah, Jay Sean, JLS, Professor Green, Alesha Dixon, N-Dubz and Mark Ronson all performed on stage at the Echo arena.

The award for best UK hip hop and grime artist went to Professor Green, while N-Dubz were crowned the winners of best song with their track Playing With Fire, which featured Mr Hudson.

N-Dubz rapper Dappy told the audience: “If you’ve got something to party over, then party. But if you’re not winning nothing, go home, feel bad, wake up tomorrow and work harder.”

Grammy-award-winning singer Billy Ocean, whose hits include Caribbean Queen and When The Going Gets Tough, was presented with the lifetime achievement trophy.

There were also prizes for reggae artist Gyptian, Somali-born rapper K’Naan and jazz act Empirical.

Twenty-one-year-old gospel act Guvna B said he wanted to dedicate his prize to young people growing up in difficult circumstances.

“I grew up in east London with lots of violence and lost a couple of friends to knife and gun crime,” he said.

“I reached a crossroads with a choice of right or wrong and took the correct route – I became a Christian – and four years down the line I have a Mobo.”

The Mobo awards, now in their 15th year, were hosted by Alesha Dixon and Reggie Yates.

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The UK’s largest ever lottery win has been claimed and paid out, Camelot has announced.

The record-breaking £113m Euromillions Lottery jackpot prize followed a draw on 8 October.

The winner beat odds of more than 76 million to one to pick the winning numbers which were nine, 30, 35, 39, 46, with lucky stars six and eight.

According to the Sunday Times Rich List 2010, the ticket-holder could become the UK’s 589th wealthiest person.

A spokeswoman for Camelot said a winning ticket had been produced and had been verified.

On Tuesday the lottery operator revealed it had received more than 1,000 lost ticket claims relating to the jackpot.

The latest winner’s wealth will eclipse that of the likes of pop stars Barry and Robin Gibb of the Bee Gees, who are said to be worth £110m, Phil Collins, who has a fortune of £108m, Rod Stewart, who has £105m, and David Bowie, who has an estimated £100m to his name.

About 2,400 lottery millionaires have been created in the UK since the National Lottery launched in 1994.

The previous largest lottery winner in the UK was an anonymous player who scooped £84.4m in May.

Nigel Page and Justine Laycock, from Barnsley, Gloucestershire, previously broke the record in February after winning £56m on Euromillions.

Tickets for Euromillions are sold in nine countries – the UK, France, Spain, Austria, Belgium, Luxembourg, the Irish Republic, Portugal and Switzerland – with ticket-holders in all those countries trying to win a share of the same jackpot each week.

Camelot is the operator for the competition in the UK.

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Apple uses the popularity of its iPhone and iPad to boost demand for its oldest product, the Macintosh computer.

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A Belgian woman has been found guilty of murdering her love rival by sabotaging her parachute on a sky dive four years ago.

Els Clottemans, 26, was convicted after a four-week trial that gripped Belgium.

A jury heard how she cut through key parts of the parachutes of Els Van Doren, 38, because she was jealous of her relationship with a male skydiver.

Ms Van Doren fell 1,000m (3,200 ft) to her death in November 2006. Clottemans denied the charges.

Judge Michel Jordans said at the end of the trial in the north-eastern town of Tongres that Clottemans would be sentenced in a separate hearing.

She could now face life in prison.

Judge Jordans said that the 12-member jury replied “Yes” to the question of Clottemans’ guilt and as to whether the crime was premeditated.

The evidence against her was mainly circumstantial, the BBC’s Jonty Bloom in Brussels reports.

It rested on the fact that Clottemans had the opportunity and skill to sabotage Ms Van Doren’s parachute and a motive because she wanted to remove a rival for the affections of Marcel Somers – the man both women had a relationship with.

No forensic evidence linked Clottemans to the crime and she strongly denied the charge.

Ms Van Doren died on 18 November 2006, crashing into a garden in the village of Opglabbeek after both of her parachutes failed to open.

Her fall was captured by her own helmet video camera, which only stopped recording at the moment of impact.

She had jumped over the Zwartberg area at 4,000m (13,000 ft) along with Marcel Somers and a second man from a Cessna plane. All three were experienced parachutists.

The three took each other’s hands for a formation free fall they had rehearsed on the ground earlier along with Clottemans. But Clottemans missed them, having jumped a fraction too late.

Clottemans was reportedly able to watch as her three fellow jumpers separated at 1,000m to open their parachutes, with Ms Van Doren trying in vain to activate hers.

“Els tried to do everything to try to save herself,” Luc Deijgers, who piloted the Cessna plane, told Belgian TV.

“She tried to open the reserve parachute but it wouldn’t open. That never happens.”

After establishing that the victim’s cords had been cut, police arrested Clottemans in January 2007.

Investigators piecing together the events leading up to the death believe Ms Clottemans wrote an anonymous letter and made anonymous phone calls to Ms Van Doren.

Laying out details of the love triangle during the trial, prosecutor Patrick Boyen said that Mr Somers had entertained Ms Van Doren, a married mother of two, most Saturdays while often seeing Clottemans on Fridays.

Mr Somers later reportedly tried to “shake off” Clottemans.

A week before the fatal jump, the two women spent the night in his flat, Ms Van Doren sharing his bed while Clottemans slept on a mattress or sofa.

Clottemans would have had the opportunity of sabotaging the other woman’s parachutes, which were in the flat at the time, prosecutors said.

Experts said it would have taken just 30 seconds to do so with scissors.

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US officials have confirmed they intend to sell $60bn (£38bn) of arms to Saudi Arabia, including helicopters and jets

The state department said details of the deal had been sent to Congress, which now has 30 days to object.

Reports said the sale, which could be the most lucrative in US history, would support 75,000 jobs in the country.

Sources say the plan is part of a strategy to deal with the threat from Iran. The state department said Israel was not expected to raise objections.

State department official Andrew Shapiro said the weapons were critical for Saudi Arabia’s defence from threats such as al-Qaeda and Iran.

Analysts say the sale – which includes more than 80 F-15 fighters, and dozens of Apache, Black Hawk and Little Bird helicopters – is also unlikely to face much opposition from inside the US.

Pentagon officials say they expect the Saudis to initially select about $30bn worth of aircraft. Delivery of the weapons is expected to be spread over 15 to 20 years.

Saudi Arabia is one of the top buyers of weapons in the developing world.

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